Technique for effective communications with and provision of global positioning system (GPS) based advertising information to, automobiles

ABSTRACT

In an automobile, communications to and from the automobile are in the form of messages. Such messages are referred to as “electronic car-mail” or “C-mail” messages as each message has a destination or origination address which includes an identifier, e.g., a vehicle identification number (VIN), identifying the automobile. The messages may be delivered to the automobile from a remote server through a communications network, e.g., the Internet. One such message may contain a recall notice to the automobile. Another message may contain just-in-time map information for navigation, depending on the current location of the automobile. Yet another message may contain advertising information concerning selected entities, e.g., restaurants, gas stations, department stores, etc., also depending on the current location of the automobile. The messages transmitted from the automobile to the remote server may contain, e.g., GPS information identifying the location of the automobile, dynamic data furnished by sensors in the automobile for analysis, an odometer reading and a speedometer reading for records, etc.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a communications technique, and moreparticularly to a technique for communicating information, includingadvertising information, with automobiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In this information age, virtually everyone is “connected” with oneanother via telephone, cellular phone, facsimile, pager, etc. Inparticular, because of recent major advancements in Internet technology,many people also utilize a personal computer (PC), notebook computer,handheld computer, etc., with a modem to communicate electronic mail(E-mail) with one another over the Internet. In addition, with commonweb browser software of the type of the NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR or MICROSOFTINTERNET EXPLORER browser installed in one such computer, a user is ableto browse, on the computer, web pages from the world wide web (WWW),which is a graphical subnetwork of the Internet.

Many web pages, especially those providing free services such as searchengines and other portal services, contain paid advertisements. Some webpages contain displayed options for providing directory assistance. Onesuch option may be a “Yellow Page” option whereby a user may specify thedesired product or service, and the area in which the user wants toobtain same. In return, the user is presented with informationconcerning each location of the provider of the desired product orservice in the specified area.

To keep automobile users “wired” even while on the road, a PCspecifically designed for them, namely, the “AutoPC,” has beenintroduced. The AutoPC, which may be installed in the standard carstereo slot, comprises well known communications and navigationtechnologies. For example, the automobile users can utilize the AutoPCto communicate E-mail and pager messages. The users can also rely on theAutoPC to navigate with the aid of the U.S. government's constellationof global positioning system (GPS) satellites. In response to signalsfrom such satellites, in a conventional manner, the AutoPC pinpoints thevehicle's location (in latitude and longitude). It also detects thevehicle's speed and direction. With geographic information storedtherein, the AutoPC is capable of verbally and visually communicating tothe user instructions for reaching the destination.

The marriage of communications and GPS technologies benefittingautomobiles has been observed. The resulting service is known as the“OnStar service.” This service requires that an OnStar system includinga GPS receiver, and a cellular phone be installed in an automobilesubscribing to the service. When an automobile user calls an OnStarservice representative via the cellular phone, the system automaticallycommunicates the vehicle's location tracked by the GPS receiver. Theservice representative may then provide the user with directions,restaurant recommendations, and/or roadside assistance depending on thevehicle's location.

In addition, to obtain diagnostic information from, and upgrade certainsoftware in, an automobile, a system whereby an automobile communicates,with a remote station, data concerning the automobile is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,442,553 issued Aug. 15, 1995 to Parrillo. In thedisclosed system, the remote station communicates the data via acellular phone network to the automobile having a cellular phoneconnection, using the cellular phone number to locate the automobile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have recognized that the prior art system described above which usesthe cellular phone number assigned to a cellular phone connection in avehicle to locate the vehicle is disadvantageous. This stems from thefact that the cellular phone number appertains to, and is specificallyassociated with, the subscriber to the cellular phone service, who ismost likely the current owner of the vehicle. As the cellular phonenumber is used for personal communications, when the ownership of thevehicle changes, the new owner would most likely replace the currentcellular phone number with a new number for his/her own personalcommunications. As a result, the remote station in the prior art systemcan no longer locate and communicate with the vehicle using the oldcellular phone number. Thus, the practicability of the prior art systemturns on whether the system has a record of the latest phone numbers forlocating vehicles. Even if procedures for registration of new phonenumbers are in place, the workability of the system is undesirablysubject to compliance by the new owners with the registrationprocedures.

In addition, utilizing the cellular phone network, the remote station inthe prior art system when communicating data with multiple automobilesneeds to call one automobile at a time. Thus, such a communicationscheme is also ineffective especially when the remote station needs totransmit the same data, e.g., information concerning a recall of acertain type of automobile, to many automobiles. In that case, theremote station needs to make multiple calls to the respective vehiclesto repeat the same data. Conversely, utilizing the cellular phonenetwork, a vehicle can communicate with one remote station at a time. Inthe event that the same data from the vehicle needs to be communicatedto various stations for different analyses, multiple calls need to bemade to the respective stations one at a time, which is undesirable.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the communicationsbetween a vehicle and remote stations or servers are realized usingelectronic car-mail, referred to as “C-mail.” Like a conventional E-mailmessage, a C-mail message is formatted in accordance with well knownprotocols, and it may be delivered by conventional mail servers on acommunications network such as the Internet. However, unlike E-mailwhose address identifies a person for personal communications and isanalogous to the aforementioned cellular phone number, the C-mail has anaddress identifying the vehicle itself. For example, the C-mail addressmay be made up of the vehicle identification number (VIN) identifyingthe vehicle. Such a C-mail address remains unchanged at least over thelifetime of the vehicle. As the C-mail address appertains to, orspecifically associated with, the vehicle, rather than a person, e.g.,the owner of the vehicle, communications with the vehicle using C-mailis intact throughout the lifetime of the vehicle, surviving all changesin the ownership of the vehicle. In addition, by taking advantage of thewell known E-mail features, the vehicle may multicast via C-mail thesame information, e.g., diagnostic information, simultaneously tovarious servers on the Internet for different analyses. Conversely, aserver may multicast via C-mail the same information, e.g., recallinformation, simultaneously to selected vehicles using the correspondingVINs as parts of their C-mail addresses.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a user may utilize acar browser to browse advertising information from a communicationsnetwork, e.g., the Internet. The advertising information is provided ina just-in-time (JIT) fashion, whose content is dependent upon thecurrent location of the vehicle indicated by GPS coordinates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing showing an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information and control system for usein a vehicle in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an arrangement in which a communications subsystem inthe system of FIG. 1 communicates with a remote server through acommunications network;

FIG. 3 illustrates data fields in an electronic car-mail message inaccordance with the invention communicated by the communicationssubsystem;

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen containing displayed options concerningnavigation capabilities provided by a navigation subsystem in the systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen displaying an electronic car-mail message;

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen containing displayed options for accessingGPS based advertising information in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen displaying an advertising page;

FIG. 8 illustrates a displayed window including inquiries as toconfidentiality of accessing certain advertising information;

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen displaying information concerning arestaurant-advertiser;

FIG. 10 illustrates a screen containing restaurant menu information; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a screen containing information concerning favoriteproduct/service providers for business purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates information and control system 100 embodying theprinciples of the invention for use in a vehicle, e.g., an automobile.In accordance with the invention, system 100 is capable of communicatinginformation with remote servers through a communications network, e.g.,the Internet in this instance. As to be described hereinbelow, system100 may transmit information concerning the vehicle including, e.g.,diagnostic information, GPS information, etc., to one or more servers,and receive therefrom information including, e.g., map information,weather information, traffic information, directory information, etc.

In a prior art system, a remote station communicates, with a vehiclehaving a cellular phone connection, data concerning the vehicle througha cellular phone network, using the cellular phone number assigned tothe connection to locate the vehicle. However, such a communicationsscheme based on the knowledge of the cellular phone number is deficientin that the cellular phone number appertains to, and is specificallyassociated with, the subscriber to the cellular phone service, who ismost likely the current owner of the vehicle. As the cellular phonenumber is used for personal communications, when the ownership of thevehicle changes, the new owner would most likely replace the currentcellular phone number with a new number for his/her own personalcommunications. As a result, the remote station can no longer locate andcommunicate with the vehicle using the old cellular phone number. Thus,the practicability of the prior art system turns on whether the systemhas a record of the latest phone numbers for locating vehicles. Even ifprocedures for registration of new phone numbers are in place, theworkability of the system is undesirably subject to compliance by thenew owners with the registration procedures.

In addition, utilizing the cellular phone network, the remote station inthe prior art system when communicating data with multiple automobilesneeds to call one automobile at a time. Thus, such a communicationscheme is also ineffective especially when the remote station needs totransmit the same data, e.g., information concerning a recall of acertain type of automobile, to many automobiles. In that case, theremote station needs to make multiple calls to the respective vehiclesto repeat the same data. Conversely, utilizing the cellular phonenetwork, a vehicle can communicate with one remote station at a time. Inthe event that the same data from the vehicle needs to be communicatedto various stations for different analyses, multiple calls need to bemade to the respective stations one at a time, which is undesirable.

In accordance with the invention, the communications between a vehicleand remote stations or servers are realized using electronic car-mail,hereinafter referred to as “C-mail.” Like a conventional E-mail message,a C-mail message is formatted in accordance with well known protocolssuch as the well known mail transfer protocol and transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), and it may be delivered byconventional mail servers on the Internet. However, unlike E-mail whoseaddress identifies a person for personal communications and is analogousto the aforementioned cellular phone number, the C-mail has an addressidentifying the vehicle itself.

A typical E-mail address is in the format of <user-id>@<domain>, e.g.,“jsmith@aol.com”. As is well known, the <user-id> part before the “@”sign, e.g., “jsmith”, identifies the E-mail user, e.g., Joe Smith. The<domain> part after the “@” sign, e.g., “aol.com”, identifies the accessmail server, e.g., an American Online server connected to the Internet,providing the E-mail service for Joe Smith in this instance. However, inaccordance with the invention, a C-mail address is in the format of<vehicle-id>@<domain>. In this instance, the <vehicle-id> part consistsof a vehicle identification number (VIN) which identifies the vehicle towhich the C-mail address is assigned. In a conventional manner, the VINuniquely identifies the vehicle by its make, model, year, etc. The<domain> part may represent a predetermined access mail server connectedto the Internet for serving the C-mail needs of vehicles. Forillustrative purposes, the <domain> part may be “vehicle.com” in thisexample.

Thus, the C-mail address of the vehicle in question here may be“JN1CA23D4TT567890@vehicle.com”, where “JN1CA23D4TT567890” is the VIN ofthe vehicle. This C-mail address is stored in memory 107 in system 100,and remains unchanged at least over the lifetime of the vehicle. Itshould be noted that memory 107 here generically represents acombination of volatile, non-volatile and cache memories. As the C-mailaddress appertains to, or specifically associated with, the vehicle,rather than a person, e.g., the owner of the vehicle, communicationswith the vehicle using C-mail is intact throughout the lifetime of thevehicle, surviving all changes in the ownership of the vehicle. Inaddition, as described hereinbelow, by taking advantage of the wellknown E-mail features, the vehicle may multicast via C-mail the sameinformation, e.g., diagnostic information, simultaneously to variousservers on the Internet for different analyses. Conversely, a server maymulticast via C-mail the same information, e.g., recall information,simultaneously to selected vehicles using the corresponding VINs asparts of their C-mail addresses.

System 100 includes communications subsystem 109 for communicatinginformation, including C-mail, in the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a block diagramof subsystem 109 which comprises transceiver 205, which includes, e.g.,a cellular phone, for transmitting and receiving information viawireless communications network 213, e.g., the well known advancedmobile phone service (AMPS) network, digital AMPS network, personalcommunications service (PCS) network, global system for mobilecommunications (GSM) network, paging network, hybrid personalcommunications network (HPCN), satellite network, microwave network,milliwave network, etc.

Subsystem 109 also comprises modem 209 for modulating and demodulatingcarriers carrying C-mail data to and from data channels, e.g., cellulardigital packet data (CDPD) channels, in wireless communications network213.

Referring back to FIG. 1, subsystem 109 is connected via common bus 113to other subsystems in system 100 including, e.g., detection subsystem111, electronic transmission/throttle system 113, brake subsystem 116,traction control subsystem 121, engine subsystem 126, wheel subsystem129, climate control subsystem 131, auxiliary subsystem 134, clocksubsystem 136, user interface 139 and navigation subsystem 141.

Subsystem interface 151 includes, e.g., an ensemble of standardinputs/outputs (I/O's) connecting processor 103 to all of thesubsystems. Under control of processor 103, combinations of thesubsystems synergistically carry out various vehicle functions.

For example, system 100 affords an adaptive cruise control functionusing detection subsystem 111, electronic transmission/throttlesubsystem 113 and brake subsystem 116. Specifically, detection subsystem111, which includes sonar, infrared transceiver, laser transceiverand/or Doppler radar, measures the distance to the vehicle just ahead.With electronic transmission/throttle subsystem 113 and brake subsystem116, processor 103 adjusts the vehicle's speed to keep it moving withthe traffic flow. If the vehicle ahead speeds up or slows down,subsystem 111 signals processor 103 to accordingly adjust the throttleor brakes to maintain a safe distance. Other automatic drivingmethodologies involving the above subsystems may be found in copendingcommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/904,855 (“the '855application”), entitled “Centralized Control and Management System forAutomobiles,” which however are deemed to be out of the scope of thepresent invention, and their description are thus omitted here.

Traction control subsystem 121, which may be of the type of the TRAXXARstability control system, includes sensors for measuring the steeringwheel position, yaw rate and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. Thesesensors work with processor 103 to controllably apply brakes at selectedwheels to avoid potential skids.

Similarly, under the control of processor 103, engine subsystem 126 runsthe engine of the vehicle at a selected R.P.M. using a selected fuel/airmixture to provide appropriate power for the vehicle.

Wheel subsystem 129 includes sensors for reading tire pressures,detection of loss of tire traction or tread, etc.

Climate control subsystem 131, which includes thermostats and an airflowcontroller, controllably cools or heats the vehicle compartment for thecomfort of passengers, and the trunk/storage to properly preserve cargo;selects an air flow mode; sets fan speeds; enables or disables seatheaters; selects fresh or recirculated air; and enables or disablesfront and rear defrosters, mirror defrosters and steering wheel heaters.

Through auxiliary subsystem 134, processor 103 controls the functions ofthe doors, windows, hood, trunk, mirrors, air-bags, restraint devices,lights, etc., of the vehicle.

The above-described subsystems each include sensors (not shown) toprovide a variety of dynamic data concerning the components associatedtherewith to processor 103. Specifically, sensors in communicationssubsystem 109 provides dynamic data concerning whether transceiver 205and modem 209 are in proper order, which includes information concerningthe level of battery power therefor.

Sensors in detection subsystem 111 provide dynamic data concerningwhether the radars and transceivers associated therewith are functioningproperly, which also includes information concerning the level ofbattery power for such radars and transceivers.

Sensors in electronic transmission/throttle subsystem 113 providedynamic data concerning transmission or the status of the transmission,as well as the status of variables in the transmission including fluidlevels, etc.

Sensors in brake subsystem 116 provide dynamic data concerning the wearof the brakes, status of the emergency brake and whether all of thebrakes are in proper order.

The aforementioned sensors in traction control subsystem 121 providedynamic data concerning measurements of the steering wheel position, yawrate and lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

Sensors in engine subsystem 126 provide dynamic data concerning theengine R.P.M., fuel/air mixture, emissions, pollution content, remaininglife of engine oil before the next requisite oil change, etc.

The aforementioned sensors in wheel subsystem 129 provide dynamic dataconcerning tire pressures, loss of tire traction or tread, etc.

Sensors in climate control subsystem 131 provide dynamic data concerningthe temperatures of the compartment and trunk/storage, air flow mode,fan speeds, air quality inside the compartment, and statuses of thefront and rear defrosters, mirror defrosters and steering wheel heater.

Sensors in auxiliary subsystem 134 which include, among others, theodometer and speedometer which provide dynamic data concerning thecurrent mileage and speed of the vehicle, respectively. Other sensors insystem 134 provide dynamic data concerning statuses of the doors,windows, hood, trunk, mirrors, air-bags, restraint devices, lights,etc., of the vehicle. In particular, some of the data concerns theintegrity of the doors, windows, hood, trunk and mirrors, detection ofany physical impact on any of them as happens in a collision, andwhether or not the air-bags are ready to function or have been deployed,etc.

In addition, clock subsystem 136 provides processor 103 with dataconcerning the current time and date. Relying on such data, processor103 duly synchronizes activities of system 100 and keeps track ofevents. Moreover, utilizing the temporal data, processor 103 realizesplanner functions such as scheduling vehicle maintenance, etc.

It will be appreciated that the dynamic data provided by theabove-described subsystems is only for illustrative purposes and,depending on the vehicle and the actual components incorporated therein,additional and/or other dynamic data may be desired. In any event,processor 103 polls each subsystem from time to time for the dynamicdata and, based on the dynamic data, it may issue warnings, and messagesdescribing irregularities through user interface 141 described below.Some irregularities may cause processor 103 to restrict certain vehicleoperations until a corrective action therefor is taken. As describedbelow, processor 103 causes selected ones of the dynamic data to betransmitted via C-mail to one or more remote servers for analyses andrecords.

Presently, in the United States, about 200 million vehicles operate onpublic roads. However, the operations of the vehicles are subject tofederal and state laws. For instance, each operating vehicle needs tomeet certain legal requirements concerning safety, emission, licensing,insurance, operational capabilities, etc. Thus, the law enforcement isinterested in obtaining certain information about each vehicle todetermine whether the operating vehicle meets such requirements.

In addition, many of the vehicles in the United States are leased orfinanced through financial institutions. The latter typically placeliens on the vehicles with the right to repossess them in the event ofnon-payment of the underlying loans. Thus, such financial institutionsare interested in knowing the whereabouts of the leased or financedvehicles in case of repossession thereof.

Further, auto repair services are interested in knowing the workinghistory of each vehicle to be serviced for diagnostic purposes, and themaintenance history as to what and when previous services have beenperformed on, and parts have been replaced in, the vehicle. Similarly,potential buyers of a used vehicle may want to have independent recordsof the working and maintenance histories of the vehicle. In addition,they may want to know whether the vehicle was involved in a collision,whether its odometer reading is accurate, etc.

Still further, auto manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers(OEMs) are interested in obtaining data concerning components in eachvehicle manufactured thereby to determine the durability of, and thusthe appropriate warranties for, the components after the original saleof the vehicle. Independent watch groups are interested in such data aswell for generating reports on vehicle quality for various vehiclebrands.

In fact, all of the above data of interest may be provided via C-mail inaccordance with the invention. Such data may be multicast by individualvehicles via C-mail to different servers on the Internet using the wellknown E-mail “carbon copy (cc:)” feature, whereby the destinationaddresses of the servers can be specified. Each server may be associatedwith a different entity and compile databases for use by that entity.

Alternatively, in this instance, the data is collected by central server230 in FIG. 2 serving as a data warehouse, which can be queried toextract useful information. To that end, processor 103 composes a C-mailmessage concerning the vehicle in question, and is programmed to causethe C-mail message to be transmitted by communications subsystem 109 toa specified Mailbox in central server 230 on Internet 250 from time totime, e.g., periodically. Accordingly, subsystem 109 establishes adial-up connection through wireless communications network 213 topredetermined access server 222 which, among others, serve C-mail onInternet 250. It should be noted at this point that server 222 may notbe the only one access server on the Internet serving C-mail. It will beappreciated that more access servers similar to server 222 aregeographically distributed for effective communications of C-mail.

The C-mail message composed by processor 103 is transmitted through theestablished connection to server 222 where it is forwarded throughInternet 250 to the central server mailbox, according to its address,e.g., mail@carcentral.com, where “carcentral.com” represents the domainassociated with central server 230.

FIG. 3 illustrates different data fields in the C-mail message ascomposed by processor 103. Specifically, data field 303 contains theaddress of the central server mailbox, i.e., mail@carcentral.com, towhich the C-mail message is delivered. Such an address is stored inmemory 107. Data field 307 contains the C-mail origination addressassociated with the vehicle in question, which isJN1CA23D4TT567890@vehicle.com in this instance as described before. Datafield 311 contains selected ones of the dynamic data provided by theaforementioned subsystems in a predetermined format. Data field 315contains the date and time stamp of the C-mail message which is providedby clock subsystem 136. Data field 319 contains the current odometerreading of the vehicle provided by auxiliary subsystem 134. Data field323 contains GPS data provided by navigation subsystem 141 describedbelow, indicating the current location of the vehicle. Data field 327contains direction data from subsystem 141 concerning the currentdirection toward which the vehicle is heading. Data field 331 containsdata concerning the current speed of the vehicle provided by thespeedometer in subsystem 134.

Upon receipt of the C-mail message, central server 230 processes thedata contained in the message, and distributes the data into appropriatedatabases to facilitate queries by different entities. Each new dataentry to the databases is identified by the VIN of the vehicle which, asmentioned before, forms part of the C-mail origination address.

A first database in central server 230, which may be queried by lawenforcement using queries in accordance with the standard relationaldatabase programming language SQL, may contain C-mail data from therespective vehicles concerning, e.g., their emission, pollution content,and integrity of lights, restraint devices, etc. For example, afterquerying the first database, the law enforcement may issue warnings orsummonses to the owners of violating vehicles, or even prohibit use ofsuch vehicles when the emission of the vehicles does not meet a certainstandard, or when the safety of the vehicles calls into question becauseof a lack of integrity of their lights, restraint devices, etc. The lawenforcement may issue such warnings or summonses via C-mail to theviolating vehicles using the VINs, forming part of the C-mail addresses,in the responses to the queries.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the subject vehicleincludes a security mechanism whereby the vehicle may be remotelydisabled via C-mail in case of emergency, car theft, prohibition by lawof use of the vehicle, etc. In accordance with such a mechanism,processor 103 checks each incoming C-mail message for a secret code foreffecting disablement of the vehicle. If such a secret code is detected,processor 103 accordingly shuts the engine off, preferably when thespeed of the vehicle is low to avoid an accident. The rest of the C-mailmessage may indicate the cause of disablement through user interface 139described below. In a preferred embodiment, multiple secret codes areused to disable the vehicle, and a particular secret code is assigned tothe law enforcement. In the event that the vehicle is disabled becauseof a violation of law, having so informed by the C-mail message, thevehicle owner needs to resolve the violation with the appropriate lawenforcement authority before the vehicle engine is reactivated based onthe particular secret code.

A second database in central server 230, which may be queried byfinancial institutions to track the leased and financed vehicles in caseof repossession, may contain C-mail data from the respective vehiclesconcerning their GPS locations coupled with the dates, times, andheading directions and speeds corresponding to such locations. Theknowledge of the whereabouts of each vehicle is also important when thevehicle needs to be located in case of an emergency or accident,especially when the user is incapacitated and unable to communicate thecurrent vehicle location.

A third database in central server 230, which may be queried by autorepair services, OEMs and independent watch groups, may contain C-maildata from the respective vehicles concerning diagnostics of the workingcomponents in the vehicles provided by the above-described subsystems.An auto insurance company may also query the third database for dataconcerning, e.g., the speeds, and statuses of the brakes of a vehicle toassess the driving habit of the user. Based on the data which indicatesthe frequency of the vehicle's exceeding the highway speed limit, therate at which its brakes wear out, etc., the insurance companydetermines certain risk factors associated with the user, and theinsurance premium for his/her vehicle accordingly.

The auto repair services can also contribute to the third database afterthey furnish repair, maintenance and/or part replacements to eachvehicle, thereby supplementing the database. To that end, each autorepair service sends: an E-mail message to the central server mailboxdescribing the services rendered thereby to the vehicle. The data fieldsof such an E-mail message may include (a) the destination address fieldcontaining the address of the central server mailbox, i.e.,mail@carcentral.com in this instance, (b) the subject matter or “re:”field containing the VIN of the vehicle just serviced, (c) theorigination address field containing the E-mail address identifying theauto repair service, which in this instance has been registered with thecentral server, and (d) the message body field contains data concerningthe services performed on the vehicle, any replacement of vehicle partsand descriptions thereof, and the date and time of the services, with anindication of whether any service or part replacement is in response toa recall notice by an auto manufacturer. The message body field maycontain the data in a predetermined format, which may be in code tofacilitate the data processing by central server 230 after receiving theE-mail message. Central server 230 distinguishes such an E-mail messagefrom a C-mail message by the origination address identifying the repairservice, which is registered and in a different format than a C-mailaddress. Upon receipt of the E-mail message from the repair service,central server 230 extracts the data from its message body field andincorporates the data into the third database under the VIN provided inthe subject matter field.

Thus, among other things, by querying the supplemented third database,an auto manufacturer can obtain the VINs of those vehicles whichresponded to a recall notice issued thereby, which may have been sentvia snail mail, e.g., the United States Postal Service, to the lastknown addresses of the vehicle owners of record as in prior art. Theauto manufacturer typically maintains, on its own computer, a databaseof the VINs of the vehicles sold to which the recall notice applies.Thus, by entering the aforementioned VINs obtained from the supplementedthird database, and by elimination, the auto manufacturer computeridentifies the VINs of those vehicles which have not responded to therecall notice. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, theauto manufacturer computer may multicast a second recall notice viaC-mail to those vehicles using the identified VINs as parts of theC-mail “cc:” addresses. Compared with the prior art snail mail approachwhose practicability precariously depends on the validity of the recordaddress of each vehicle owner who may have moved or changed, theinventive C-mail approach is much more effective where the recall noticein the form of C-mail is transmitted via the Internet to the vehicleitself, and the user in the vehicle is prompted by a user interface in amanner described below to read the C-mail recall notice as soon as itarrives. In fact, it is more economical and advantageous for the automanufacturer to multicast the recall notice via C-mail to all of thevehicles concerned in the first instance.

As mentioned before, the third database supplemented by the auto repairservices also catalogues the parts of each vehicle, which were replacedby such services, by their replacement dates and times, anddescriptions. In the eventual scrappage of the vehicle, by querying thesupplemented third database, the history of each replacement parttherein is known. Depending on its history, the replacement part can berecycled, refurbished, or properly disposed to better protect theenvironment.

For used vehicle buyers, the supplemented third database may alsoprovide C-mail data concerning any detection of a physical impact on thebody of a vehicle, and any deployment of air-bags therein, indicative ofa prior collision. In addition, it may include the odometer readings ofthe vehicle, coupled with the dates and times corresponding thereto. Theodometer readings are assumed accurate: if they increase with time.

It should be noted that to prevent fraud or tampering with the databasesin central server 230, the data in the E-mail or C-mail to server 230may be encrypted, or signed with a digital signature for authenticationpurposes, in accordance with a well known cryptographic algorithm, e.g.,the RSA algorithm, digital signature algorithm (DSA), pretty goodprivacy (PGP) algorithm, etc.

It should also be noted that by using a conventional relational databasemanager (not shown) in server 230, each query against the databasestherein results in a concise report satisfying the criteria specified inthe query. In the event that any text, graphics, pictures, audio clipsand/or video clips are attached to the C-mail or E-mail messages sent toserver 230, such attachments are titled and tagged in the databases. Thereport generated in response to a query includes any relevantattachments.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, user interface 139 includes display 405,e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), located on the dashboard of thevehicle, and a display driver (not shown), e.g., LCD driver, forprocessor 103 to control the display graphics on display 405. In thisillustrative embodiment, interface 139 also incorporates well-knowntouch-screen circuitry (not shown). With this circuitry, the user caninteract with processor 103 by, say, touching a displayed option ondisplay 405. Through interface 139, processor 103 receives from thetouch screen circuitry a signal identifying the location on display 405where it has been touched. If such a location matches the predeterminedlocation of one of the displayed options, processor 103 determines thatthe option has been selected. With such touch-screen and displayedoption selection capabilities, the user is able to obtain information onand control selectable functions of the vehicle.

In this instance, interface 139 also includes (1) a conventional speechrecognizer and audio input for the user to utter commands and responsesto processor 103, and (2) a conventional speech synthesizer and audiooutput for processor 103 to communicate to the user in audio.

Of course, in addition to, or in lieu of, the above-describedtouch-screen capability incorporated in user interface 139, other wellknown user interface hardware/software may be incorporated therein forselecting displayed options on display 405. Such hardware/softwareincludes, e.g., dedicated or programmable keys on the periphery ofdisplay 405; an indicator device such as a mouse, joystick, light pen,trackballs, touchpad, or a combination thereof; etc.

As disclosed in the aforementioned '855 application, processor 103 maycause different screens or pages to be displayed on display 405. Eachpage contains displayed options for controlling different aspects of thevehicle functions. For example, an audio page provides a choice of radiostations, a climate control page provides for temperature and ventadjustments, etc.

As mentioned before, a C-mail message containing data concerning currentstatuses of the subject vehicle is transmitted from subsystem 109 toserver 222 on the Internet through an established connection from timeto time. The frequency of such C-mail transmission may vary with thespeed of the vehicle.

For example, such transmission may be infrequent when the vehicle isstationary, i.e., at a zero speed, as not many vehicular activities aregoing on. After each transmission of the C-mail message from subsystem109 to server 222, the latter in return transmits to subsystem 109 anyC-mail messages from the Internet addressed to the vehicle through thesame established connection before it is disconnected. As soon as anysuch C-mail message is received by subsystem 109, processor 103 readsthe header of the C-mail message, which indicates whether the messagecontains display data for browsing and/or non-display data to beprocessed by processor 103. If processor 103 determines that the C-mailmessage contains display data, it causes a pop-up C-mail indicator to bedisplayed on the page that the user is currently on, indicating that aC-mail message has arrived. For example, one such C-mail indicator,denoted 409, appears on the SMART NAVIGATOR page of FIG. 4, which theuser is currently on.

By touching in this instance the area of screen 405 where indicator 409is displayed, exclusive of box 411, the user may open the C-mail messagecontaining display data. FIG. 5 illustrates one such C-mail messagewhich contains a recall notice. As shown in FIG. 5, the notice in thisinstance is from ABC Auto Manufacturer to the subject vehicle regardinga faulty air-bag deployment mechanism therein. Under anothercircumstance, such a C-mail message may contain a warning or summonsfrom the law enforcement, an auto insurance expiration notice from aninsurance company, etc. After reading the C-mail message, the user has achoice to save the message in memory 107 using SAVE option 509, ordelete same using DELETE option 511.

If upon seeing pop-up indicator 409, the user decides to read the C-mailmessage indicated thereby later, the user may touch the area of screen405 corresponding to box 411 to minimize indicator 409 for postponingthe opening of the C-mail message.

As shown in FIG. 4, the SMART NAVIGATOR page includes displayed options,e.g., NAVIGATION option 419, WEATHER option 421, TRAFFIC option 425 andDIRECTORY option 430. By selecting option 419 by touching same ondisplay 405, followed by selecting ENTER key 435, the user is able toobtain navigation instructions to a given destination. Specifically, theuser is elicited for information concerning the destination, anyintermediate stops, etc. Such elicitation is realized by posingquestions on display 405 and/or by uttering those questions using asynthesized voice through the aforementioned audio output. The user thenprovides verbal responses thereto through the aforementioned audioinput. The speech recognizer in interface 139 then recognizes andregisters the responses.

Navigation subsystem 141 in FIG. 1 receives signals from a constellationof satellites which is part of the U.S. government's GPS. In response tothese signals, subsystem 141 pinpoints the vehicle's location inlatitude and longitude. Using map information from sources describedbelow, subsystem 141 provides on display 405 a suggested route leadingto the destination specified by the user. Furthermore, based on theknowledge of the vehicle's instantaneous speeds and directions,subsystem 141 is capable of verbally and visually directing the user tosuch a destination.

For local navigation, the above map information may be provided fromstorage in the form of a compact disk (CD). However, because of thelimited capacity of the storage, for navigation in remote areas outsidethe local coverage, subsystem 141 may obtain the necessary mapinformation in real time via C-mail described above, or in the form of aweb page in a manner described below. For example, as central server 230receives C-mail messages from the vehicle from time to time, based onthe GPS data in each message, indicating the current location of thevehicle, server 230 determines whether map information concerning remoteareas is needed. This determination is based on a prediction as to wherethe vehicle may be during the interval between the receipt of thepresent C-mail message and that of the next C-mail message. Such aprediction is realized based on the length of such an interval, the dataconcerning the current speed and direction of the vehicle in the presentC-mail message, etc. If it is determined that any remote area mapinformation is needed, server 230 returns via C-mail to system 100 mapinformation in a just-in-time (JIT) fashion which may be good for apredetermined radius from the current location of the vehicle.Alternatively, server 230 provides the map information affording acoverage based on the above-described prediction.

The user may select WEATHER option 421, TRAFFIC option 425, and/orDIRECTORY option 430 in addition to NAVIGATION option 419 on the SMARTNAVIGATOR page. For example, when option 421 is selected in addition tooption 419, followed by a selection of ENTER key 435, subsystem 141provides on display 405 a suggested route to a given destination withindications indicating weather conditions, hazards, etc., along theroute, as disclosed in the aforementioned '855 application. Similarly,when option 425 is selected in addition to option 419, followed by aselection of ENTER key 435, subsystem 141 provides on display 405 asuggested route to a given destination with indicators indicatingtraffic congestions, highway warnings, etc., along the route. Whenoption 430 is selected in addition to option 419, followed by aselection of ENTER key 435, processor 103 causes a MAIN DIRECTORY pagedescribed below to be displayed on display 405. It suffices to know fornow that after further selections by the user of additional options onsuch a page, a suggested route to a given destination with directoryinformation concerning selected products and/or services, e.g.,restaurants, gas stations, etc., along the route would be provided ondisplay 405. It should be noted that the above weather information,traffic information and directory information may be aggregated alongthe same route.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the software for acar browser similar to the well known NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR or MICROSOFTINTERNET EXPLORER web browser is stored in memory 107 in system 100 forbrowsing information provided by servers connected to Internet 250. Inparticular, the car browser works compatibly with the standard hypertexttransfer protocol (HTTP), hypertext markup language (HTML), virtualreality markup language (VRML), graphics interchange format (GIF), JAVAapplets, etc.

For example, after selection of DIRECTORY option 430 alone or incombination with NAVIGATION option 419, followed by that of ENTER key435 on the SMART NAVIGATOR page of FIG. 4, processor 103 causescommunication subsystem 109 to establish a communication connection withaccess server 222. Processor 103 then causes the car browser, which isassigned an Internet protocol (IP) address in a conventional manner, torequest directory information from a server identifiable by apredetermined uniform resource locator (URL). For example, the URL is“www.carcentral.com/directory” in this instance, which identifies theaforementioned MAIN DIRECTORY page provided by central server 230. Sucha request by the car browser including the URL and an identity of therequest originator, i.e., the car browser IP address, is sent via theestablished communication connection to access server 222, where therequest in this instance is routed via Internet 250 to central server230 based on the given URL.

In response, server 230 returns a web page, namely, the MAIN DIRECTORYpage, to the car browser according to its IP address provided in therequest. Upon receipt of the MAIN DIRECTORY page, the car browser openssame on display 405. FIG. 6 illustrates one such MAIN DIRECTORY page ondisplay 405.

As shown in FIG. 6, the MAIN DIRECTORY page includes NATIONAL option605, REGIONAL option 607.and INDIVIDUAL option 609. For example, aselection of option 605 enables the user to access directory informationconcerning products and/or services of national recognition or brandobtainable within a selected distance of the current vehicle location.Specifically, upon detecting the selection of option 605, the carbrowser causes drop down menu 615, including RESTAURANT option 615-1,GAS STATION option 615-2, . . . and DEPARTMENT STORE option 615-N, toappear on display 405, where N represents an integer.

Without loss of generality, the user in this instance selects RESTAURANToption 615-1. Upon detecting such a selection, the car browser obtainsthe GPS coordinates of the current vehicle location from navigationsubsystem 141, and then transmits a request for identities of nationallyknown restaurants within a selected distance, say, five miles, of thecurrent vehicle location indicated by the GPS coordinates just obtained.In response, server 230 provides a RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page based onthe received GPS coordinates. FIG. 7 illustrates one such RESTAURANTADVERTISING page on display 405, with the assumption that DIRECTORYoption 430 was selected alone, not in combination with NAVIGATION option419 on the SMART NAVIGATOR page. Otherwise if the NAVIGATION option 419was also selected, any navigation instructions for reaching a givendestination would appear on the RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page as well.

As shown in FIG. 7, icon 703 indicates the vehicle location identifiedby the aforementioned GPS coordinates on a five-mile radius map. Tags713, 715 and 719 respectively represent the nationally known restaurantson the map. For example, tag 713 indicates the location of McDonald'sRestaurant; tag 715 indicates the location of a Taco Bell Restaurant;and tag 719 indicates the location of an Olive Garden Restaurant. Tags713, 715 and 719 may incorporate the respective restaurants' famouslogos for easy recognition. In any event, a selection of any of suchtags, analogous to conventional hyperlinks, causes the car browser toaccess central server 230 for the identity of the correspondingrestaurant in audio and in text. For example, after a selection of tag713, based on the identity information from server 230, the car browsercauses user interface 139 to announce, “Welcome to McDonald's,” and/orplay a jingle identifying McDonald's Restaurant, along with a display oftextual words identifying McDonald's Restaurant next to tag 713.

It should be noted at this point that server 230 furnishes the directoryinformation concerning product/service providers based on their paidadvertising subscription. For example, for nationally known restaurants,server 230 only provides directory information about those restaurantswhich subscribe to its directory service. Server 230 stores in a memorytherein the GPS coordinates of each subscriber restaurant. In providingthe RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page of FIG. 7, server 230 identifies thosesubscriber restaurants (e.g., the restaurants represented by tags 713,715 and 719 in this instance), which are within the selected distance ofthe vehicle location. Such a determination is based on a comparisonbetween the GPS coordinates of the vehicle and those of each subscriberrestaurant stored in the server memory.

OPTIONS key 721, BACK key 725 and FORWARD key 727 are also provided onthe RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page of FIG. 7. For example, by selecting key721, the user may re-define the coverage of the displayed map. Suchre-definition may be achieved by selecting a further option for a newradius from the vehicle location, or by pointing and dragging cross mark733 using an indicator device or using a finger if the user interfacesupports the touch-screen capability, which is the case here. When theuser points at cross mark 733 and drags same away from the center ofdisplay 405, the coverage is enlarged and the displayed map is scaled up(i.e., with the number of miles per inch going up) accordingly.Conversely, when the user points at cross mark 733 and drags sametowards the center of display 405, the coverage is reduced and thedisplayed map is scaled down (i.e., with the number of miles per inchgoing down) accordingly. By enlarging (or reducing) the coverage, thenumber of restaurant tags within the coverage most likely increases (ordecreases).

By selecting key 721, the user may also specify the frequency ofupdating the RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page so that the user is informed ofother restaurants on a continual basis as the vehicle is moving. Such afrequency may be defined in terms of time. However, in this preferredembodiment, the frequency is defined in terms of mileage, e.g., onceevery five miles from the current vehicle location. As soon as thefrequency is specified, the car browser continually polls navigationsubsystem 141 for the current GPS coordinates of the vehicle, andcompares such coordinates with those in the previous request to centralserver 230. Once it is determined that the two sets of GPS coordinatesare more than the specified distance (e.g., five miles) apart, the carbrowser issues a new request for identities of nationally knownrestaurants to server 230, which includes the current set of GPScoordinates of the vehicle. In response to the new request, server 230provides a fresh RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page including any newrestaurant tags on display 405.

In a conventional manner, the car browser records the sequence of pagesthat the user visited or browsed. Selection of BACK key 725 enables theuser to revisit the page (e.g., the MAIN DIRECTORY page) immediatelybefore the current page (e.g., the RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page).Similarly, selection of FORWARD key 727 enables the user revisit thepage immediately following the current page. In this instance, FORWARDkey 727 is non-selectable as the page following the RESTAURANTADVERTISING page has not been established.

Continuing the above example, having learnt that tag 713 representsMcDonald's Restaurant, the user may be interested in dining therein, andagain selects tag 713 to obtain further information about therestaurant. Upon such a selection, the car browser opens an inquirywindow on display 405. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the inquiry windowincludes three inquiries regarding the confidentiality of the user'sselection. Specifically, if the user regards his/her selectionconfidential, the user may select box 805 to dispose of the inquirywindow. On the other hand, if the user regards his/her selectionnon-confidential, the user may select box 807, instead. Furthermore, ifthe user regards his/her selection always non-confidential, and does notwant to be bothered by the inquiry window in the future, the user mayselect box 809, instead.

After receiving, from the car browser, a request for further informationabout McDonald's Restaurant, and the user response to theconfidentiality inquiry, server 230 first increments a hit count of tag713, representing McDonald's Restaurant in question, by one. In general,server 230 keeps track of a cumulative number of hits of each tagrepresenting a product/service provider-advertiser, the time and day ofeach hit, etc. The resulting statistics may be used by theprovider-advertiser to measure the effectiveness of its directorysubscription, and help formulate its promotional plans.

In addition, if the user response indicates that his/her selection ofinformation about a product/service provider is non-confidential, server230 stores such a selection, the time and day of the selection, etc., ina record identified by the IP address of the car browser representingthe user. Any other selection by the user associated with such an IPaddress is stored in the same record. The resulting database, containingrecords from different users, may be utilized by the product/serviceproviders to develop profiles of the consumers of theirproducts/services. Taking advantage of the knowledge of the consumerprofiles, the providers are able to design advertisements, commercialsand promotional campaigns more targeted to their respective groups ofconsumers.

Finally, server 230 returns a RESTAURANT page onto display 405. FIG. 9illustrates the RESTAURANT page containing directions to McDonald'sRestaurant represented by selected tag 703, and information concerningthe restaurant service hours, phone number, facility, any promotion,etc. In an alternative embodiment, this page is preceded by a commercialabout the restaurant based on a video and sound clip also provided byserver 230.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, server 230collects digital images of subscribers' business operations andestablishments. In this instance, one or more digital cameras areinstalled in each subscriber restaurant which periodically take picturesof the restaurant facility. The resulting images are formatted inconventional image files, e.g., GIF files, by an Internet processor inthe restaurant. Illustratively, each image file includes in its headerthe GPS coordinates of the restaurant, and the time that the image wastaken. The image time may also be embedded in the image itself. In aconventional manner, the image file is transmitted by the Internetprocessor via Internet 250 to server 230, where the image file is storedaccording to the GPS coordinates in the file header which identify thesubscriber restaurant.

VIEW key 903, NAVIGATE key 905, FAVORITE key 907, BACK key 909, FORWARDkey 911, RESTAURANT WEBSITE key 913 and RESTAURANT MENU key 915 are alsoprovided on the RESTAURANT page of FIG. 9. A selection of key 903 causesserver 230 to furnish, on display 405, one or more of the most recentdigital images of McDonald's Restaurant in question which are identifiedby its GPS coordinates. Advantageously, by viewing the images, the usercan determine whether the facility is desirable, and whether therestaurant would be crowded by the time the user arrives at therestaurant, taking into consideration a time stamp associated with eachimage.

A selection of NAVIGATE key 905 causes navigation subsystem 141 toprovide the user with directions to the restaurant in a manner describedbefore. A selection of FAVORITE key 907 enables the user to “bookmark”or register, in an individual registry described below, the GPScoordinates identifying the restaurant in question. It suffices to knowfor now that the individual registry includes a personal registry and abusiness registry. The user may bookmark the restaurant's GPScoordinates in a personal (business) registry if the restaurant ishis/her favorite choice for personal (business) purposes.

BACK key 909 and FORWARD key 911 function similarly to above-describedkeys 725 and 727, respectively. Key 913 represents a hyperlink to thewebsite of the restaurant. Thus, a selection of key 913 causes the carbrowser to open the restaurant website on display 405. In addition, aselection of key 915 enables the user to access the RESTAURANT MENUpage, which is illustrated in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 10, the RESTAURANT MENU page enumerates types of foodand beverage served in the restaurant. Each food and beverage entry maybe highlighted by selecting same. The user may order ahead thehighlighted food and beverages by selecting ORDER key 1005. Uponselection of key 1005, the car browser causes the order information tobe transmitted to server 230 which in turn transmits the information tothe Internet processor in the restaurant for processing the order.

It should be noted at this point that the information concerning theselection of tag 713 representing McDonald's Restaurant, and any foodand beverage ordered therefrom is stored in a specified memory space inmemory 107 according to the GPS coordinates corresponding to tag 713. Inthe event that the car browser in the future receives, from server 230,tag 713 corresponding to the same GPS coordinates, the car browserretrieves from the specified memory space any stored informationcorresponding to such GPS coordinates. In the instant example, if theuser returns via the same route or a route close thereto, tag 713 wouldmost likely re-appear in the return trip. In that case, based on thestored information corresponding to the same GPS coordinates as tag 713,the car browser highlights tag 713 with a distinguishable color,indicating that the restaurant associated with tag 713 may have beenvisited. That is, tag 713 would be colored differently from other tagswhich were not selected. Such a distinguishable color highlight on tag713 advantageously triggers the user's memory about the associatedrestaurant, and thereby helps him/her to decide whether or not torevisit the restaurant. In the event that the user decides to revisit arestaurant, and thus re-select the associated tag, when the user comesupon selectable items on the associated web pages which were previouslyselected, for example, those food and beverages on the RESTAURANT MENUpage of FIG. 10 which were previously ordered, such items are alsohighlighted in a distinguishable color. Again, such a color highlightadvantageously triggers the user's memory about the selected items, andthereby helps him/her to decide whether or not to re-select the sameitems.

Returning to the MAIN DIRECTORY page of FIG. 6, in this example, theuser selects REGIONAL option 607, instead. In accordance with stillanother aspect of the invention, the REGIONAL option enables the user toaccess directory information concerning regional attractions, andproducts and/or services of regional recognition, i.e., which areparticularly known in the region which the vehicle is currently in. Upondetecting such a selection, the car browser obtains the GPS coordinatesof the current vehicle location from navigation subsystem 141, andtransmits a request to server 230 for an appropriate drop down menuwhich is a function of the current vehicle location indicated by the GPScoordinates just obtained. Upon receipt of such a request, server 230determines what region the vehicle is currently in based on the receivedGPS coordinates, and prescribes the appropriate menu containing optionsof products and/or services pertaining to the region as determined.

Continuing the example, assuming that it is determined that the vehicleis currently within a predetermined distance of Orlando, Fla. which isknown for various theme parks and other tourist attractions.Accordingly, server 230 provides drop down menu 617 which includes,e.g., THEME PARK option 617-1, SOUVENIR option 617-2, . . . and REGIONALRESTAURANT option 617-K, where K represents an integer. Similar to aselection of RESTAURANT option 615-1 described before, a selection ofTHEME PARK option 617-1 in this instance causes server 230 to provide aTHEME PARK ADVERTISING page (not shown) on display 405. Based on thedisclosure heretofore, it is apparent to a person skilled in the artthat similar to the above-described RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page of FIG.7, the THEME PARK ADVERTISING page would include a map having selectedcoverage, indicating thereon the current location of the vehicle and thelocations of those theme parks which subscribe to the directory serviceby server 230. In addition, similar to the above-described RESTAURANTpage of FIG. 9, any THEME PARK page (not shown) would include, e.g.,directions to the theme park, information concerning visiting hours andpromotions, an option for viewing digital images of the park facility,etc. Further, similar to the above-described RESTAURANT MENU page ofFIG. 10, any ADMISSION TICKET page (not shown) would include, e.g.,information concerning admission ticket prices and discounts, an optionfor ordering admission tickets ahead, etc.

A selection of INDIVIDUAL option 609 enables the user to accessdirectory information concerning the user's favorite product/serviceproviders according to the aforementioned individual registry. Asmentioned before, the individual registry includes a business registryand a personal registry. Both the business registry and the personalregistry are stored in an allotted memory space in memory 107. Thebusiness (personal) registry contains information concerning the user'sfavorite product/service providers for business (personal) purposes, andthe corresponding sets of GPS coordinates identifying the location ofsuch providers.

Specifically, upon selection of option 609, drop down menu 619,including BUSINESS option 619-1 and PERSONAL option 619-2, is providedon display 405. Without loss of generality, in this instance BUSINESSoption 619-1 is further selected, the car browser then retrieves fromthe allotted memory space the stored business registry information and,based on the retrieved information, presents on display 405 a BUSINESSREGISTRY page, which is illustrated in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the user's favorite product/service providerpertaining to business are arranged under different category optionssuch as COMPUTER EQUIPMENT option 1103, OFFICE SUPPLY option 1105, . . .and RESTAURANT option 1109. The user may add new favoriteproduct/service providers to the registry by using the FAVORITE key,e.g., FAVORITE key 907, on a web page as described before.Alternatively, the user may utilize an ADD key on a registry page toachieve such addition. For example, upon selection of ADD key 1113 onthe BUSINESS REGISTRY page, the car browser issues a request to server230 for a directory menu containing the identity and GPS coordinates ofeach product/service provider subscribing to the directory service byserver 230. After receiving such a menu, the user may select therefromadditional favorite product/service providers in any category.Accordingly, the BUSINESS REGISTRY page is revised, and the GPScoordinates of those selected providers are stored in the aforementionedallotted memory space, along with the identities of the additionalproviders.

DELETE key 1115 provides the inverse function to ADD key 1113 and allowsthe user to delete out-of-favor product/service providers from theregistry page.

To access directory information concerning, say, office suppliesaccording to the user's business registry, the user may select OFFICESUPPLY option 1105 and then ENTER key 1117. In response, the car browserissues a request to server 230 for an OFFICE SUPPLY ADVERTISING page.Server 230 then returns onto display 405 the OFFICE SUPPLY ADVERTISINGpage (not shown). Similar to the RESTAURANT ADVERTISING page of FIG. 7,the OFFICE SUPPLY ADVERTISING page includes a map having selectedcoverage, indicating thereon the current location of the vehicle, andthe locations of any of those favorite office supply providers. In theevent that no favorite providers can be located within the coveragearea, server 230 searches the aforementioned directory menu forsubstitute providers in that area which may be of the same chain orfranchise, or which supply products/services of similar quality andprice range to the favorite providers. However, the tags on theadvertising page which represent the favorite providers are highlightedin a first predetermined color, and those representing the substituteproviders are highlighted in a second predetermined color, therebyenabling the user to readily differentiate the favorite providers fromthe substitute providers.

In the event that the user's trip is multi-purpose, which involvesobtaining different products/services in, the same trip, the user mayselect multiple product/service provider options before selecting ENTERkey 1117 to aggregate the directory information concerning providers ofthe different products/services on the same ADVERTISING page. Forexample, the user may select COMPUTER EQUIPMENT option 1103, in additionto, OFFICE SUPPLY option 1105, before selecting ENTER key 1117. In thatcase, first and second sets of tags associated respectively with anycomputer equipment providers and office supply providers, as located,would be indicated on the ensuing ADVERTISING page. The tags in thefirst set differ from those in the second set by their shape, color orother feature to facilitate the user's selection of the correspondingproviders.

Returning briefly to FIG. 6, a selection of PERSONAL key 619-2 insteadof BUSINESS key 619-1 as in the above example occasions a processsimilar to that described above, which however involves product/serviceproviders of the user's personal choice. In addition, an ENTER key mayalso be used on the MAIN DIRECTORY page to enable the user to aggregate,on the same ADVERTISING page, directory information concerning providersof different products/services under NATIONAL option 605 and/or REGIONALoption 607.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. Itwill thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able todevise numerous other arrangements which embody the principles of theinvention and are thus within its spirit and scope.

For example, system 100 is disclosed herein in a form in which varioustransmitter and receiver functions are performed by discrete functionalblocks. However, any one or more of these functions could equally wellbe embodied in an arrangement in which the functions of any one or moreof those blocks or indeed, all of the functions thereof, are realized,for example, by one or more appropriately programmed processors.

1-60. (canceled)
 61. A method for use in a system in a vehicle, thevehicle including a display element, the method comprising: sensing alocation of the vehicle; showing, on the display element, at least oneindicator indicating a location of at least one product or serviceprovider in relation to the sensed location of the vehicle; allowing auser to obtain information concerning products or services offered bythe provider indicated by the indicator; and providing a selectableoption to receive, through a communications network, at least one imageconcerning the provider.
 62. The method of claim 61 wherein thecommunications network includes a wireless communications network. 63.The method of claim 61 wherein the at least one image is received in adigital format.
 64. The method of claim 61 wherein the at least oneimage is shown on the display element.
 65. The method of claim 64wherein the at least one image includes a time indication thereon. 66.The method of claim 64 wherein the at least one image includes thereonan indication of a location of the provider.
 67. The method of claim 66wherein the indication includes global positioning system (GPS) data.68. The method of claim 61 wherein the information includes promotionalinformation.
 69. The method of claim 68 wherein the promotionalinformation comprises a sound clip.
 70. The method of claim 68 whereinthe promotional information comprises a video clip.
 71. The method ofclaim 61 further comprising allowing a user to obtain data concerningthe provider.
 72. The method of claim 71 wherein the data includesdirections for reaching the location of the provider.
 73. The method ofclaim 71 wherein the data includes connection information forcommunicating with the provider.
 74. The method of claim 61 wherein theprovider includes a restaurant.
 75. The method of claim 61 wherein theselectable option is provided on the display element.
 76. The method ofclaim 61 wherein the location of the vehicle is sensed using a GPStechnique.
 77. A system for use in a vehicle, comprising: a device forsensing a location of the vehicle; a display element for showing thereonat least one indicator indicating a location of at least one product orservice provider in relation to the sensed location of the vehicle; aninterface for allowing a user to obtain information concerning productsor services offered by the provider indicated by the indicator; and aprocessor configured to provide a selectable option to receive, througha communications network, at least one image concerning the provider.78. The system of claim 77 wherein the communications network includes awireless communications network.
 79. The system of claim 77 wherein theat least one image is received in a digital format.
 80. The system ofclaim 77 wherein the at least one image is shown on the display element.81. The system of claim 80 wherein the at least one image includes atime indication thereon.
 82. The system of claim 80 wherein the at leastone image includes thereon an indication of a location of the provider.83. The system of claim 82 wherein the indication includes GPS data. 84.The system of claim 77 wherein the information includes promotionalinformation.
 85. The system of claim 84 wherein the promotionalinformation comprises a sound clip.
 86. The system of claim 84 whereinthe promotional information comprises a video clip.
 87. The system ofclaim 77 wherein a user is also allowed to obtain data concerning theprovider.
 88. The system of claim 87 wherein the data includesdirections for reaching the location of the provider.
 89. The system ofclaim 87 wherein the data includes connection information forcommunicating with the provider.
 90. The system of claim 77 wherein theprovider includes a restaurant.
 91. The system of claim 77 wherein theselectable option is provided on the display element.
 92. The system ofclaim 77 wherein the device incorporates GPS technology.